1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of fabric soft tops and tonneau covers for vehicles and more particularly to the field of retainer systems for removably securing such soft tops and tonneau covers to the vehicles.
2. Discussion of the Background
Securing a soft top or tonneau cover made of fabric-like material such as canvas or vinyl to the body of a vehicle has always presented challenging design problems. Co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,854 in this regard taught a very effective way to accomplish this in which a belt or flange was attached to the edge of the flexible, fabric top and inserted into a U-shaped channel mounted on the vehicle body. In doing so, the flexible top was first pulled taut and then slightly stretched. This placed the resilient top under a small tension as the belt was manually manipulated into the channel; and, the resulting tension was then used to seat and maintain the belt with the attached top in the channel.
This approach of U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,854 has been an industry standard for years. It is particularly useful in attaching long stretches of the top or tonneau to the vehicle. In doing so, it is only necessary to initially manipulate a lengthwise portion of the belt into the channel and the resulting forces then create a twisting or wave effect along the remaining length of the belt. This twist or wave travels down the length of the belt and greatly aids the person in inserting the rest of the belt in the retaining channel. The twisting or wave effect also works in reverse to quickly and easily aid the operator in removing the belt and attached top or tonneau from the retainer channel. That is, only a small portion of the belt needs to be initially removed from the retaining channel and then the twisting or wave effect will essentially peel the belt lengthwise out of the retaining channel.
In nearly all applications, this prior retaining system will outperform all others. However, in certain situations, the wave or peel of the belt can be a drawback. For example, if the operator only wants to detach a small portion of the belt (e.g., to fold back only a corner or the last foot or so of a tonneau cover to place a grocery bag or other item in the box of the pick up truck or other vehicle), the peel effect may cause the cover to essentially take off and detach the belt much farther than desired. In another situation when the operator may want to attach the removable rear panel to the rest of the soft top for a sport utility vehicle, he or she may find it difficult to reach and start the zipper attachment. Often, the operator will then remove the rear section of the belt to provide some slack in the top. However, he or she quickly discovers that the otherwise desirable wave or peel effect may have taken over. The released belt section may then continue to detach itself much farther than was desired or necessary to provide enough slack to reach and start the zipper attachment for the rear panel. In this corner area of the vehicle, the belt may even continue to detach itself completely around the corner and for a considerable length along the side of the vehicle. The operator may then have to re-attach a considerable length of the belt.
With this in mind, the present invention was developed. In it, the belt of the prior system has been provided with a notch or stop along its length. In operation and in a number of applications, the notched belt of the present invention provides an effective stop to the wave or peel of the prior system. This enables the user to manipulate the top or tonneau cover in a number of new and desirable ways without having the belt take off and detach any farther than is desirable or necessary to accomplish the desired tasks.
This invention involves a retainer system for vehicle soft tops and tonneau covers. The system includes a belt attached to the edge of the fabric of the top or tonneau cover and a channel member mounted on the vehicle to selectively receive the belt. The belt of the present invention is provided with a stop mechanism to positively prevent the belt from peeling out of the retaining channel member farther than desired. In the preferred embodiments, the stop mechanism is a notch or cutout in the belt. With the present invention, the notch will effectively stop the peel or withdrawal of the belt from the retaining channel at a predetermined location along the channel.
In this manner, the belt and attached top or tonneau cover can be partially removed from engagement along the channel member to make it easier and quicker for the operator to perform a number of desirable functions. In one application, the rear corner area of the soft top can be detached from the rear channel member to slacken the side curtain of the top for easier attachment of the rear panel zipper. In doing so, the belt will not take off and peel or disengage from the rear channel any farther than is desired or necessary to easily reach and start the tracks of the zipper. In another application, the stop mechanism provided by the notch in the belt will allow the operator to raise only a corner of a tonneau cover to retrieve or place a small item into the box of the pickup truck or other vehicle. The stop mechanism can also be used to allow the operator to roll or fold the rear of the tonneau cover forward only one or two feet to provide limited access to the box. In doing so, the side belts of the cover will not take off and peel farther toward the front of the vehicle than desired. The notched stop of the belts can additionally be used with other folded or pivoted parts such as sunroofs to provide not only a predetermined limit to the disengagement of the belts but also a natural fold line at the notch. The notched portion of the belts in this regard provides not only a stop but also a living hinge for the folded or pivoted part. In all of the preferred applications, the notched approach of the present invention maintains the ease of attachment of the fabric to the belts during the manufacturing process and serves to create a neat and smooth appearance of the top or cover as mounted on the vehicle.